Inspired by the Jules Verne novel, players are following in Phileas Fogg and Passepartout's footsteps, attempting to travel around the world in 80 days on a map with Victorian-era decorations.
On a player's turn, he chooses one of the face-up travel cards. Each card comes with an extra (getting to be first player in the next round, for example). Then he decides whether to travel to the next city. Does he want to wait until the next round in hopes of better cards, or will he make his journey now? If so, he must have and play the required travel cards. The two transportation types are trains and ships. For example, 2 ship cards are required to travel from Suez to Bombay, so 2 ship cards must be played; train cards won't help in this instance. Time is spent each step of the way in the form of days, and (while meeting certain other requirements) the winner is the player who spends the fewest number of days getting around the world. The number of days depends on the travel cards used, plus help from special cards, hindrance from the meandering detective, and so on.